Giuseppe (Pino) Wilson, who played for the New York Cosmos in 1978, has passed away.

Wilson died of a stroke in Rome on Sunday.

He was 76.

After performing four years and in 138 games for Internapoli, Wilson joined Lazio in 1969.

Along with teammate Giorgio Chinaglia, the center back played a major role in Lazio being promoted from Italy’s Serie B to Serie A before the club won the first division crown 1973-74. Wilson, who captained the squad, also was a member of the Coppa delle Alpi winning side in 1971.

Wilson played 296 league matches for Lazio, scoring four goals, from 1969-80.

In 1978, he was loaned to the Cosmos, playing 16 matches and helping the North American Soccer League squad to the 1978 Soccer Bowl championship.

He also made three appearances for the Italian national team in 1974.

After playing for FC Inter-Montreal in 1983, Wilson retired, having made 468 league appearances.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.